Kalayaan Hall was swarmed by rabid devotees last Sept 26 to cheer Rechie Valdez who made history as the first elected Filipina woman to sit in the House of Commons. Bravo to this lady who seems to work well under pressure with unbridled vitality marching to the beat of her own drum. (With good friend Janet Lim, we volunteered doing door to door rounds to campaign for her not only in Streetsville but in nearby areas as well, along with a soft whispering persuasion for Liberals Marco Mendicino and Ya’ara Saks at their Eglinton and York Centre ridings respectively.)
How well do we know Rechie? The well-oiled PR machinery tells us that she has had fifteen years of corporate banking experience where she gained cross-enterprise experience and specialized in change management, project management, and strategy. She is the Vice President of Marketing and Creative Head of multiple brands that span the print, marketing, apparel, food, and sports industry to say the least.
True enough, Rechie represents the modern power woman who brings an additional vibe, a beacon of sureness, like a breath of fresh air in an era of near-constant masked uncertainty.
We are happy that this new winsome member of our Parliament has managed to find time to respond to our short interview.
1. What experiences have you had that have helped you deeply understand the mindset and values of another culture?
Rechie: Throughout this campaign, I have had the amazing opportunity to visit mosques across my riding to meet the community and listen to the issues and concerns that matter to them. I have also been invited to backyard gatherings with various communities across different cultures to engage in discussions that convey their personal experiences and what they need assistance with. Through these and my door knocking experiences, I spent time listening and learning. Mississauga—Streetsville has many diverse cultures and I am looking forward to be their voice along with the Filipino-Canadian community in Parliament.
2. What’s the first thing that popped into your mind when you knew you really won the elections?
Rechie: I thought to myself – WE DID IT – WE MADE HER-STORY!
3. You finally got a parliamentary seat ending 17 years of drought – what precisely did you do to accomplish this? (Dr. Rey Pagtakhan was the first Filipino Canadian Member of Parliament in Ottawa and represented Winnipeg North-St. Paul, Manitoba from 1997 until losing in the 2004 election.)
Rechie: I worked hard with my team over 33 days to make the most impact within Mississauga-Streetsville which included door knocking day in and day out. I trusted my campaign manager, and team with their important roles, and they relied on me to do mine. I created a positive and welcoming culture within my office and my team and I did our best to ensure everyone felt welcome, and appreciated for their individual contributions. The heart and soul of my campaign was my team and volunteers.
4. Any particular ideas to boost the Pinoy community?
Rechie: I have a lot of ideas which I am excited to work on in the future which includes engaging with the Filipino-Canadian community and empowering them all to make a difference in their own unique way, within their local communities. Together, we can all support one another and work together to make a tangible difference in our future.
5. And a relaxing question – what was your comfort food during the campaign trail?
Rechie: As a small business owner, my team and I supported our local Mississauga—Streetsville businesses, and I thoroughly enjoyed it when my mom brought some of her delicious home-cooked meals.
6. Did you break down during the campaign process? WHY and how you overcame the challenge.
Rechie: I remained focused during the entire campaign, and the time that I did break down was when I was overwhelmed with the love and support that I felt from my team, my volunteers, and from my community.
I certainly experienced my share of challenges throughout the campaign. However, through open communication and trust with my team and family, we worked together to overcome them.
7. Any secret weapon you utilized that made you the winner?
Rechie: Nothing – it’s just being myself. Believe in yourself, believe in ourselves.
Having faith in your own capabilities, that you CAN do something. That WE ALL POSSIBLY CAN!
Indeed, a positive contagious fever for a better Canada. Mabuhay ang Pilipino!
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Now, on some showbiz bytes – hottest talk of the town is why Netflix’s brutal series, Squid Game so darn popular. The Korean thriller might be Netflix’s most popular show yet, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said recently. One reason is that despite its extremely dark subject matter, it’s shot in a very vibrant, colorful setting. “Squid Game will definitely be our biggest non-English language show in the world, for sure,” Sarandos added at the Code conference in Los Angeles. Netflix ranks the popularity of its originals by counting how many people watch a title for at least two minutes in the first 28 days of release. Squid Game might be overtaking Bridgerton — a racy Regency-era drama released late in 2020 — as Netflix’s most popular series. It would also overtake Lupin, a French heist series that is Netflix’s most-watched non-English language series yet.
Have you heard that ABS-CBN star Carlo Aquino almost joined the cast of Squid Game? The actor has posted a handwritten note from Squid Game’s director Hwang Dong-hyuk, saying he’s “looking forward” to work with him in the “near future.”
According to Carlo’s regrammed post, he was cast to originally play the role of Abdul Ali or Player No. 199, a Pakistani foreign worker in Korea who joined the deadly competition to help his wife and baby after his employer refused to pay his salary. The role eventually went to 34-year-old Indian theater, film and TV star Anupam Tripathi.
I bumped into my dear friend Ricky Davao on the net and as usual, we spent sometime chatting. We congratulated him for winning the Best Supporting Actor in the the Star Awards for Movies, for the movie Fuccbois. Directed by Eduardo Roy, Jr., the film is a gripping and suspenseful story of power struggles and the kind of oppression that pervades in male sex work.
Ricky will be appearing in the 2nd Season of THE WORLD BETWEEN US with Alden Richards and Jasmin Curtis for GMA. “I will only be shooting for 6 days,” he announced but during this pandemic season – 6 days could mean you might be locked in the bubble for 40 days!
“It goes this way – we observe the rules strictly complying to the Covid guidelines in the new normal,” Ricky explained. “We undergo an RT-PCR test (RT PCR means real time polymerase chain reaction – this was developed to identify a small fragment of a virus and create multiple copies, making detection easier. PCR is the gold standard in testing for COVID-19 and other viral diseases), a kind of swabbing to check our health status. We feel like we are all OFWs under a tight surveillance.” Any member of the cast and crew who tests positive will be asked to go home until he is thoroughly clean. So if you notice that a character is missing on your favorite tv series, it is obvious that he got sick…
GMA does not leave any stone unturned to keep us all safe. Never mind the cost. Like right now, we are all at a five-star hotel – EDSA Shangrila, each in our own private bubble. No physical contact with anyone, even delivery of food is simple. It is left at the hallway and we pick it up individually. All of us are masked at all times, we only take it off when the durectoir shouts ACTION.” Ricky will soon direct a new teleserye before the year ends and a film at the start of 2022.
LOVI Poe has officially signed up with ABS-CBN after months of speculation, but remained grateful to her former home studio. “Hindi po biro ang 15 years. I would like to thank GMA for taking a chance on this unknown dreamer; for believing in me and supporting me all these years. I have utmost respect and gratitude to the network that has given me my roots and a heart full of memories. Thank you for planting my dreams. Thank you for giving it time, love and effort to water it.”
The transfer Lovi made is a move she is dedicating to her late father, iconic “Da King” Fernando Poe Jr. One of her future projects with the network is the PH adaptation of “Flower Of Evil” with returning actor-heartthrob Piolo Pascual.
Lovi, in her ASAP guesting, did not hide her tears when her sis Senator Grace made a surprise video greeting. Senator Grace aired that their father must have been so proud of her now for taking such a great leap in her career and dedicating it all for him. She congratulated her and wished that she can finally do an action film. The female senator said, “I’m sure Papa’s very proud of you. My special wish is that, actually, you make an action film. Kayang-kaya mo kasi disiplinado ka, very fit, at alam ko, magaling ka rin sumuntok.”
And here is what GP told me about Lovi.
“Lovi is very sweet and kind. She is also very determined and disciplined when it comes to her career. She is very independent. I see our Dad in her. Because of our age difference, I feel very protective of her. I love being her ‘Ate’ . She too has been very supportive of me.”
ABS-CBN’s Exec Cory Vidanes has big plans for Lovi. Will Lovi be part of Probinsyano? “No, but she will eventually be paired with Coco Martin and with other prominent male leads we have in the coming series that we are currently working on.”
Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla’s teleserye comeback is finally happening after four years. The announcement coincided with the 10th anniversary celebration of KathNiel’s love team, which began in September 2011 via the youth-oriented series Growing Up. According to KathNiel, they will top-bill a romantic-comedy series titled Too Good To Be True.
Kathryn said that the ABS-CBN executives asked them about the project they wanted to do for the love team’s teleserye comeback. She recalled, “Tinanong kami kung ano iyong gusto naming gawing project, and sinabi namin ni DJ na gusto talaga namin gumawa ng romcom. “It’s something light, just to give [viewers] a break and breather sa lahat ng nangyayari ngayon.” It was also a personal choice for the couple to do a romantic-comedy project, after doing heavy projects on TV: the hardcore drama Pangako Sa ‘Yo and the fantasy-action-drama La Luna Sangre.
Daniel also thanked the show’s creative and production teams for allowing them to become hands-on in terms of the creative side. “Thankful kasi they allowed us to help in writing the script, meaning they trust our creativity.”
KathNiel was last seen in the digital series The House Arrest of Us aired in 2020, which is now streaming on Netflix.
And before we say till next ish, we’d like to commend Jean Pardo and Agnes Pasaporte Miranda of PIDC for their never tiring efforts. Jean has announced that the Mabuhay Festival Virtual Show on Nov 27 and 28 which topbills the Songwriting contest has a stellar panel of judges composed of Vehnee Saturno, Lani Misalucha, Gino Padilla, Renee Salud (Hi Renee – we’ve been friends since the mid-70s!), Jhett Tolentino and Little Albert Maligmat.
